Ok so let me start off by saying I’m a total jersey nerd. I have to believe that one of the big reasons I got into hockey as a little two year old lad was the awesome, bright, crazy unis of the 1990’s. That love has followed me into adulthood, and I have built up a mighty fine collection over the years of some beautiful jerseys (and some pretty ugly ones too).

One of my biggest gripes with the current state of the game today is how many teams have absolutely shocking uniform designs and decisions. I would assume these franchises are paying for top-quality business consultation and design people, yet we continue to see insane decisions like the Flames and Capitals just made recently when Adidas took over, to ditch the beautiful retro looks they had, and go with plain, pipe-y, pyjama-looking trash, while 99.9% our jaws dropped at how such a decision could be made. Is there some ugly-jersey conspiracy that we’re all totally oblivious to?

But alas, we don’t have any say in which jerseys our teams will don. But it won’t stop us from dreaming! So I decided to do a series on the best jerseys that each franchise has worn. You may agree with some, you may think I’m crazy. Either way, let me know by tweeting me at @BLTJay!

Arizona (Phoenix) falls into the category of teams that have never really had great jerseys. But we still gotta pick one (and this one has been growing on me recently)! This jersey is pretty damn crazy, but the late 90’s were all about standing out… and black jerseys. And this one actually pulls both off pretty well, considering (much better than the Mooterus, that’s for sure.)

As I will mention many times throughout this project, I like teams that can pull off a unique look, especially one that only makes sense for that team. This set has the Aztec pattern around the waist and arms, and it that works for a team from Arizona. Too many teams stick with some boring template just because everyone else is doing it, and in fact sometimes the jersey manufacturer demands such (like the abomination that was the first RBK jerseys in 2007).

Technically, the new look will probably be slightly better than the look from the 90s, as the slimmed down Adidas cut looks better than the bulky one from the 90s. But they are almost identical otherwise.

So what do you think? Do you like the classic Kachina look, or are you a fan of their current brick-red and sand uniforms? Maybe one of the ugly black looks thrown in between? Let me know in the comments!

Summer got ya down with the lack of hockey? Fret not friends… check out the hockey talk from beer leaguers’ point of view.